In THE HOPEFUL, failure is the cause, the effect of that failure is change, new directions, possibilities the characters didn’t see before.

Often, we view failure as negative, and yes, it can be negative in the immediate aftermath of the failure. People might get hurt, physically and emotionally, we might become afraid for the future, we may lose hope, but no success ever comes without failure. When Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar lander onto the surface of the moon, he did so thanks to failure. If the team before him hadn’t been incinerated during a routine test, Gus Grisholm would likely be the household name.

Failure is indeed the one small step all of us must take if they want the giant leap for change.

But we have to dare to fail, we have to be inspired by those who did and then marvel at the perseverance it took to pick themselves back up and carry on, failing again and again until they’ve changed their world and the world around them. That’s a valuable conversation.

In a world curated to only highlight success, it’s powerful to be reminded failure is how you get there.

If we lose touch with the value of failure and we shy away from risk and putting ourselves out there, if we stop trying, we will never discover that thing we are seeking, and we won’t change ourselves or the world around us. THE HOPEFUL is full of failure, and you’ll feel it; you’ll feel the disappointment, the confusion, the damage but you’ll also feel the joy, the majesty, the mission and the love as you are swept up in the lives of these incredible people who dared to get it wrong, repeatedly and changed the world around them as a result.